Saturday Treadmill Session

Duration = 30:33
Distance = 2.0 miles
Calories = 249
Max HR = 159
Avg HR = 140

Saturday: treadmill building-to-long session
Equipment: NB Minimus Trail WT10s, shorts, long-sleeve tech shirt, Suunto t6c HRM

Warm-up: .25 miles @ 3.0 mph
Main: 20:00 @ 4.4 mph with HR in 150-160
Cool-down: .25 miles @ 3.0 mph

Today we ran the plan and finished with everything where I wanted it.  I did not exceed the target range.  I had no issues with completing the run at the planned speed  The only issue is that I still have a period early in the session, but not the start, where the HR reading goes wonky.  This usually resolves itself and the post-processing handles it pretty well.  For longer events, I don't think this will be a problem, but I may need to investigate conductive gels for shorter events.

Friday Treadmill Session

Duration = 31:03
Distance = 2.0
Calories = 242
Max HR = 158
Avg HR = 138

Friday: treadmill building-to-short session
Equipment: New Balance Minimus Trails, shorts, long-sleeve tech shirt, Suunto t6c HRM

Warm-up: .25 miles @ 3.0 mph
Main: 20:00 @ 4.2 with HR in 150-160
Cool-down: .25 miles @ 3.0 mph

This we originally planned as 20 minutes of 4.2, but after 10 minutes I was only up to 145 bpm, so I increased the speed to 4.4 mph.  I went ahead and completed the last little bit to have another 2 mile session.  The temperature was in the low 60s and that may have helped keep the hear rate down.  I'll try 4.4 continuous tomorrow to see if that bring me in on target.  I'm quite happy with this run.  My left calf was still a bit stiff, but maybe a bit better than yesterday.

Earlier in the day, I spent 26 minutes walking with my wife in the local neighborhood.  We covered 1.5 miles while we were at it.

Thursday treadmill session

Duration = 29:41
Distance = 2.00
Calories = 278
Max HR = 167
Avg HR = 150


Thursday: treadmill building-to-midlong session
Equipment: New Balance Minimus Trail (blue), shorts, long-sleeve tech shirt, Suunto t6c HRM

Warm-up: .25 miles @ 3.0 mph
Main: 20:00 with HR in 150-160
Cool-down: .25 miles @ 3.0 mph

The above was the plan.  I figured that 5.5 mph should be about right based on my run yesterday.  For various reasons, I decided to be conservative and started with 5.0 after the warm-up.  This did well until the HRM caught up.  I think the sensors on the strap loose signal until I start sweating.  Once I had a good reading I was already out of the range I really wanted to be in.  I finished the 1/2 mile at 5.0, but I started dropping the speed after that.  I eventually got all the way down to 4.2 mph.  The time when I finished 1.5 miles of running was close enough to the target of 20 minutes that I started the cool-down then.  Other than some slight stiffness in my left foot and lower leg, there were no issues with this run.

I was quite surprised by how much slower I had to run.  I figured that there might be some due to the grade of the treadmill because I tend to find running "for real" to be easier than my treadmill.  I'm sure that was part of it.  The other part, which I hadn't considered, was the temperature.  I ran outside yesterday in ~35F with some wind.  The temperature in the basement where I keep the treadmill is in the upper 60s F.  That was a good part of the rest.

The final item for today, and possibly related to the previous, was USAF strength training.  About an hour before doing my run, I did 5 sets of push-ups and 5 sets of sit-ups.  These were done to temporary muscle failure in the later sets.  These completely wiped me out and required some time before I felt ready to do my run.  The plan was to have done the strength training much earlier in the day, but I ran out of time.  Final counts today were 41 push-ups in 5 sets (2x15, 5, 2x3) and 48 sit-ups in 5 sets (4x10, 8).

First run of new plan

Duration =31:36
Distance =2.4
Calories =238
Max HR =164
Avg HR =138

Wednesday: short session
Equipment: New Balance Minimus Trails WT10s, shorts, tech shirt, jacket, cap, gloves

Warm-up: 5 minutes walking
Main: 21:36 aerobic run (~150 bpm)
Cool-down: 5 minutes walking

Basic out and back including 5 minutes warm-up and 5 minutes cool-down walking. I ran on a fairly level route to the local library and back. No significant issues. Temperature was just under freezing with a brisk NW wind, but the sky was clear and I was in the sun for most of the route.

2012 Goals and Plans

My goals for 2012 are:

1. Stay healthy
2. Train consistently
3. Finish MCM, secondary goal of marathon PR (<6:45)
4. HM PR (<2:28)
5. 10K PR (<55 minutes)
6. Pass the USAF Fitness Test

The last is related to the Marine Corps Marathon in that I need to pass it to stay active as a drilling Reservist. I'll be using that status to get a discount on the race and lodging.

I've never done a proper base training cycle before, so 2012 will be a Base year. The basic plan is to stay with base training for most of the year adjusted to allow a mileage peak and taper before the USAF Marathon in September and follow Hal Higdon's multiple marathon plan to lead into the MCM at the end of October (and again to lead into the Route 66 in Tulsa in November! )

Initially, I plan to start with a Lydiard style base running as many days of the week as my schedule will allow. I will start with 30 minutes each day and build up to the following:

	Monday	1 hour
	Tuesday	1.5 hours
	Wednesday	1 hour
	Thursday	1.5-2 hours
	Friday	1 hour
	Saturday	>2 hours
	Sunday	1-1.5 hours

The pace for all of these will be aerobic (practically, the pace the allows for even splits for the entire distance).

I am prepared to adjust based on how the runs feel and how my recovery works.


Races currently planned:

	Canyonlands Half Marathon	March 17	Moab, UT
	Bolder Boulder 10K	May 28	Boulder, CO
	USAF Marathon	September 15	Dayton, OH
	Marine Corps Marathon	October 28	Arlington, VA
	Route 66 Marathon	November 18	Tulsa, OK

Related to the USAF Fitness Test, I need to be able to complete 21 push-ups and 34 sit-ups in separate sessions of one minute each. I've consistently been able to meet the requirement on the push-ups, but the sit-ups requirement is the thing that is keeping me from passing the assessment.

My plan here is to do 5 sets of 20 (or as many as I can do) of push-ups and then of sit-ups every other day. This may be stretched to every third day if I do not recover well enough. The number will be adjusted based on how well I do each month on my drill weekend.

Finally, I've allowed myself to gain back most of the weight I lost the last time I was successful in losing weight. I will be starting at 180 pounds and will be looking to lose about 1 pound a week for most of the year. I expect I will find a good level after about 30 pounds, but we will see once we get there.

I think I can do most of this by making mostly minor changes. I will stay stable after the end of July until after the Route 66 Marathon. I hope to not gain too much during the 2012 Holiday season and plan to knock any remaining extra pounds off in early 2013.


This makes for an ambitious plan, but if you don't aim high, you will never get off the ground.